A World to Explore

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–There’s a joke in the title, in case you didn’t notice! I was on my own for my second day of fieldwork in southern Israel. I revisited yesterday’s outcrops of the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian) Zichor Formation, taking more time to plot out future section-measuring and fossil-collecting sites for students. I was also able to spend a lot of classic nose-on-the-ground time sorting out the fossils.

The outcrop above is about the top half of the Zichor Formation in this area (N 30.30587°, E 34.96543°). Note the cemented limestones near the top and the soft marls in the foreground. Both have plenty of fossils, but you can imagine which is easier to collect from.

One mystery of this unit is at the very top of the section in one of the last bedding planes. There are extensive amounts of a twisty worm-tube called Filograna (or at least something close to it). You can see it in the above image. I was told earlier it was a “mat”, but it appears to be instead broken fragments of tube accumulations scattered about. Strange critter, this worm.The marls of the Zichor have an impressive echinoderm content. Since they have calcitic tests, they are very well preserved. Above are five heart urchins showing their classic pentameral symmetry.

Here are fragments of a cidaroid echinoid test. In the middle of each plate is a circle with a boss extending outwards. Spines were attached to these, one of which is included in the image. I hope on our later expedition we can find whole specimens. Students are always up for these discovery challenges.

This was a first find for me: an asteroid (sea star) ray fragment. I don’t think I’ve ever found a sea star fossil before. We are looking above at the oral side where tube feet would have extended.

This is the other side of the fragment — the aboral side. Beyond being cool, I’m afraid there is not a lot of significance for this fossil unless I can identify it further. Sea stars are famous for living in all sorts of marine environments, from the intertidal to deep trenches.

Some future Wooster students are going to have a good time with this unit sorting out the paleontological, sedimentological and stratigraphic contexts and then comparing this tropical fauna to the better known assemblages in the temperate north.